Greetings,

This is my first post to CNCzone-- I apologize for its length. I have been an avid builder of DIY CNC machnes for the past 14 years, and now work part time for the Science Museum of Minnesota. The longer I play with motion control devices, the more I am convinced that teaching kids how to buid simple CNC-type projects is the best way to draw them into learning and using practical skills such as mathematics, using tools, and programming, all of which are often perceived by many as "boring." Watching the action of a kid-built motion control device under power is anything but.

I am currently writing a proposal requesting funding from the National Science Foundation for creation of a group of exhibits which focus upon the topic of motion control. I would like not only to educate the public about the impact of CNC upon both fabrication and design, but also to provide a clear demonstration of how feasibile it is for individuals to begin and continue to develop their own motion control experiments at home. To do so, I hope to incorporate not only "state ot the art" examples of current commercial CNC tooling, but also emphasize the capabilites of less glamorous systems, using relatively inexpensive and simple components such as steppers and solenoid valves. My personal take on this stuff -- that it opens up new territory for artistic expression -- will hopefully add to the playful and inviting nature of many of the exhibits. Examples are found on my site:
http://www.taomc.com

My specific questions to the forum are:
1) Can anyone point me to historical data about such things as early CNC use in inustry, and the use of open-loop systems during NASA's Apollo days?

2) Does anyone have industry contacts that might be interested in donating equipment or components?

Input of any type would be greatly appreciated.

Bruce Shapiro
Artist-in-reisdence
Science Museum of Minnesota
www.taomc.com

Bruce,
I had seen your site and especially liked the "Egg Art". Can you provide the link showing how to make one. Lots of interesting uses of stepper motors there.
This site has many talented people that I'm sure can answer your questions.
Regards
Hager Hay

bruce,

i love your site and designs. i have looked at it many times over the last several years! welcome to cnczone. you will probably like this place. there are people with information here!

as for your specific questions, i dont know to much. i have seen a NOVA special called "Rise of the Robots" which is about industrial automation produced in the early 80s. I am sure you will find what you want in engineering and history books! i would goto the biggest library available, and also ask the librarians. there are lots of information sources they can search. usually.. if its a good library. they can search scientific articles, private information databases, etc. at least they could at the library i worked at in a chicago suburb....

just a note, i am also working on creating NC type devices purely to create art.. different overall theme than your work.

i think there is definiately something to this homebuilt cnc movement of the last 5 to 8 years. i believe it is the first wave of an overall move towards a virtual and decentralized production system. 3d printer type RP devices are the next territory of both hobbiests and standard computer store shelves. i think the rapidity we have gone from simple NC devices and crudy printers to 6axis 3D carving machines and homebuilt EDM cnc machines shows how wide open this field will be.

the more opensource types who get involved, the more amazing the future. we are the first people in the history of robotics to really really discover use for robots in the home. these $250 cnc devices can save huge amounts of time and money for specific tasks. these simple devices can also be used to upgrade themselves! the self replicating model of upgrade on homebuilt household robots is a very intriguing notion.

i would love to hear what your take on this is.

also: i have in my library 2 or 3 books about the history of mechanical devices in industry. search amazon.com; one title i can remember is "A history of Mechanical Inventions"

This book discuses early pre electrical devices which automatically produced parts. animatrons or something like that.
if you cant find info, i will get more titles for you.

regards,
robert

OH OH. another fun idea- if i was 10 again, and i got to program the specs for a airplane wing a hotwire cutter cut, i would have been in young-geek heaven. you could get a standard fuselage and allow kids to design their own wings. cnc system and software can be done very well for around $500.

I just got my chips to build the eggbot with my daughter.I'm also in the process of converting my mill to cnc as well.

If you ever need any welding(mig/tig(ac/dc))let me know.I'm in StPaul,but my shop is in minneapolis.

I have lost all of my old magazine articles that dealt with the early implementation of NC machines.

But from memory, I thought that it was McDonald Douglas (spell) in the aerospace industry that first used NC machines in the 60's. They were controlled from punch cards and later on from punched tape.

Interestingly, they are NC, not CNC as they didn't use a computer at that time. In the early 80's I used to program a NC turret press by typing in G code on a typewriter style machine. It would punch out the tape and type my code at the same time. We would write the programs out long hand and then type them out. Very error prone. Programs were very rarely correct on the 1st try.

I am also pretty sure that some of the commercial CNC router companies have this historical data. Try www.thermwood.com for example. They claim to be one of the first CNC router companies, so I am sure that they would some back up information.

Good luck on your search. Your work is very inspirational.

Trent

It's been a while since I posted my message, and I forgot about it. Thanks for the helpful responses and kind words about my work. I'm still actively seeking funding and venues for expanding the use of DIY CNC as an educational tool (I'm talking with folks at the Singapore Science Centre who are interested in this). I hope to be back on the forum with lots of questions soon!

Bruce
ps-- PSI, I may take you up on that welding offer!

Hi Bruce,

Lockheed kicked off the modern industrial automation revolution.

See a summary at http://www.tadesite.com/parsons.mgi

regards Gary

I've looked into the history of CNC a few times myself - and the previous article was an good/interesting read - I had come to the conclusion that CNC manufacturing/machining/control started at MIT in the early fifties - and that even earlier the concept of control feedback loops was an outgrowth of military artilary targeting technologies(anti-aircraft-stuff). My three most memorable finds when researching the history of CNC are:

@ MIT
http://libraries.mit.edu/archives/mithistory/histories-offices/servo.html

Open coarse ware video
3. Between Human And Machine:Feedback, Control and Computing Before Cybernetics (there are lots of great video's here at MIT OCW)
http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/20/
3rd in this list -> http://mitworld.mit.edu/search.php?q=machine&r=10

This book I purchased mostly because it was so cheap but it turned out to be a great read: tells the history of FANUC Ltd.
http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?y=0&tn=walking+the+narrow+path&x=0


Well - this is an old thread - but im posting anyway...

Don't ask questions just follow the links...

http://iesu5.ieem.ust.hk/dfaculty/ajay/courses/ieem215/lecs/CNC.html